Test Pipes/Catalytic Converter Question

[skydragoness]

Hey guys.

My bf's 93 Z32 (70k) is being neglected by its owner. Since his owner's birthday is coming up, i have been looking into things i can do to help the car.

First off, the cats are clogged, there's the obligatory rotten egg smell. Last time i was under that car I was surprised to see what i thought were 4 catalytic converters? Or at least two pre-cats and two others. My bf is dumb and thinks he should get test pipes all around, but of course we have a two-year inspection which would mean every two years he'd have to throw on some cats anyway to pass.

He complains a lot about his gas mileage and i think it has a lot to do that his car has:

1. Clogged cats2. No tune-up as of recently (although he keeps saying the Subaru dealership did it before he bought it---i highly doubt that. All dealers do is top off fluids/ change the oil on used cars at the most)3. Probably could use an O2 sensor too

Anyhow, so i'm wondering can the pre-cats be deleted ? I could pick up a pair of decent catcos' ( i run a catco on my s13) or magnaflow catalytic converters and take the car to a shop to weld 'em in? Or do i need 4?

[nsrZ32]

You don't need four....the car will pass emissions testing with only the 2 main ones.

So is his car a TT or NA? If its a TT I HIGHLY recommend picking up a pair of split downpipes (they replace the precats) and a set of test pipes and just throwing on the cats for inspection....on a TT the power and response is improved dramatically. If its an NA just pick up something decent to get rid of the smell.

Also.....tell him to take care of his car! Feel free to e-mail me with any Z questions you have if you need help.

[freakonaleash1187]

what i think you are talking bout there being 4 cats is there is actually two cats and two resinators on the z32 stock exhaust. and since you have the inspection, i would just replace the cats.

also, at 70k, i would recommend replacing the timing belt IMMEDIATELY. nissan recommends replacing it every 60k miles at max. the thing so important with this is that if the timing belt breaks with how the VG is made, the engine will be basically screwed.

i would also do a tune-up as soon as possible, the z will be very grateful.

[skydragoness]

You don't need four....the car will pass emissions testing with only the 2 main ones.

So is his car a TT or NA? If its a TT I HIGHLY recommend picking up a pair of split downpipes (they replace the precats) and a set of test pipes and just throwing on the cats for inspection....on a TT the power and response is improved dramatically. If its an NA just pick up something decent to get rid of the smell.

Also.....tell him to take care of his car! Feel free to e-mail me with any Z questions you have if you need help.

Ooops, i forgot to mention it was an n/a. I'll sling him your email address, you may expect to hear from him. Thanks for the help.